Tough Times in Antarctica

 

Even the color of the cover art makes me feel ill.

Hearing the 'complete' score of Scott of the Antarctic from Vaughan Williams will be an exciting venture for most listeners.

Indeed, Vaughan Williams is as persuasive with an orchestra on film as he is in the concert hall.

If I have a problem, and it is merely a personal observation, this music is all a bit bleak.

The composer's other score for 49th Parallel, also with these same performers on Dutton, is more musically varied for the listener. Yet, to hear the source of Vaughan Williams' Symphony no. 7 is a terrific experience, wonderfully played here.

A review from 2023

The activity of 20th Century classical music composers in early film music is an interesting entity. Big names such as Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Britten, Copland, and here British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams make stirring contributions.

Scott of the Antarctic is a historical tragedy, filmed documentary style in the 1940’s, relieving the story of unnecessary romantic angst or silly adventure sequences. Vaughan Williams’ music to this film can be found in many forms, but here with Martin Yates, 80 minutes of film score with many music scenes included which did not make it into the final product.

The opening music is its hook; an exotic-sounding, rugged tune forms the basis for many music cues. VW uses them subtly at first and under many different guises, and later lays his main idea thickly in the final quarter, at Captain Scott and his party’s demise. There is a fair bit of variety, up-tempo marches, and colourful percussive effects galore, but much is as bleak as the landscape the characters traverse.

The original soundtrack led by the composer, scrappy but excitingly up close, can still be scrounged around for online. A couple of concert suites exist: a historical one on CD41 with some interesting tidbits surrounding Captain Scott, and a newer plush one on Chandos VW film series.

Here, Martin Yates has the wonderful Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus on hand. The brass and pipe organ have the finest moments alongside a few wind solos, while the percussion is set back a bit. The solo soprano and chorus add to a handful of tracks and the icy atmosphere is very well portrayed.

Sonically, I sense a distant, back-of-concert hall acoustic that I wish was more present; a closer perspective overall might have been more impactful. No one would mistake this recording as a filmic experience, as it has more of a concert rendition feel, played very well by a professional orchestra. Compared to the Romantic grandeur from Rumon Gamba on Chandos, this one has a colder musical climate.

This is the only place to get it all, though, and the stirring advocacy of Martin Yates cannot be denied.

Work
Scott of the Antarctic

Soloists
Ilona Domnich, soprano

Ensembles
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Martin Yates, conductor

Label: Dutton Epoch
Year: 2017
Timing: 79.48

Another wonderful film score from Vaughan Williams.

This one is a little more bleak, not offering this listener much musical variety, yet Yates and his Scottish counterparts are compelling.

Hear the Score HERE!